UPDATE: 3 taken to hospital after RV fire at 23rd/Myrtle

| Delridge | West Seattle news | WS breaking news

(WSB photos)

7:33 AM: Thanks for the tips – there’s a major emergency response at 23rd/Myrtle. So far we’re hearing it’s a fire with at least three people hurt. We’re on our way to find out more.

7:37 AM: SFD says it’s an RV fire. Nearby residents saw and heard what they describe as “explosions” for a while but that’s stopped now. Address has been updated to 24th/Myrtle [map].

7:50 AM: Our crew has arrived; photo above. This is directly west of the vacant site where the Lam-Bow Apartments were demolished after one building was destroyed by fire, with a rebuild in the works.

8 AM: The original 23rd/Myrtle address was correct, though SFD still has this logged as 24th/Myrtle. Their investigator has been dispatched, as has a public-information officer, so more information should be available at the scene soon.

8:05 AM: Just talked to the incident commander. The explosions some nearby residents heard/felt during the fire were propane tanks. The incident commander also tells us 4 people were in the RV when this happened; 3 are being taken to Harborview.

8:56 AM: Police have reopened Myrtle west of Delridge. SFD still has an engine and investigator at the scene.

9:03 AM: SFD spokesperson David Cuerpo tells WSB two people were in critical condition when taken to the hospital, a 38-year-old woman and 26-year-old man, while a 41-year-old man was in serious condition, The fourth person was unhurt.

5:04 PM: Just went back to the scene. Seattle Public Utilities and USecology are there for storm-drain cleanup, The gutted RV is still there too.

5:54 PM: SPU spokesperson Sabrina Register adds a few details: “After learning of the fire this morning, Seattle Public Utilities dispatched a team to survey areas including Longfellow Creek. SPU Spill Response staff did not observe any pollutants in the creek but out of an abundance of caution, contacted US Ecology (contractor) to clean the road surface and one impacted catch basin (storm drain). That clean-up work is taking place this evening.”

11 PM: Investigators say the fire was accidental, started by a heater.

Francisco VJ November 9, 2020 (7:47 am)

Explosion was on the 23rd not 24th. I stay in 24th and can see the smoke coming from 23rd.Between Myrtle and Willow.

WSB November 9, 2020 (7:59 am)

Yeah, sorry, SFD for some reason still has it labeled as 24th/Myrtle. Changing again.

Super Deli Fan November 9, 2020 (7:57 am)

Yikes. Can’t imagine trying to stay warm in an RV and then having your fuel explode (I assume). Getting cold out there.

nf November 9, 2020 (8:49 am)

Any word on whether the 4th person is going to be able to find alternate housing?

WSB November 9, 2020 (9:18 am)

I have asked if the Red Cross was called in, but SFD might not have that info; while four people were in the RV, we don’t know if they were all residents of it.
- Nearby resident November 9, 2020 (9:53 am)
  
  We live nearby and saw the owner just after the incident not hurt, as far as we know he was the only primary resident of the place. Nonetheless praying for them all ❤️

Busrider November 9, 2020 (8:58 am)

Praying for the people. Just trying to stay warm I assume in these hard times.Looks like the fuel/retardant is draining into Longfellow creek too.

WSB November 9, 2020 (9:08 am)

The foam that SFD uses is nontoxic, last we inquired. But I’ll check with SPU, in case any kind of cleanup/containment is involved.
- ltfd November 9, 2020 (10:04 am)
  
  Novacool is considered non-toxic to marine life; fish can actually live in the 0.4% solution that is used for firefighting (lab testing for U.L. certification). Remember the several marina fires that have occurred on the Duwamish, and the large amounts of foam utilized – no fish kill noted after those events either. Hydrocarbon fuel runoff is, however, a concern at these incidents.

waikikigirl November 9, 2020 (11:23 am)

Propane fires burn quick and hot, my father was camping and had a fuel leak on the stove in his trailer and he lit the propane light over the table and all he had time for was to grab his cat from the back bunk and run! Needless to say he drove the burnt wreckage from Lake Easton to Burien and then to the ER.Hope all these people will be OK!

flimflam November 9, 2020 (4:08 pm)

hope they recover.reason # 37a on why allowing this is a bad idea.

Ws resident November 9, 2020 (6:10 pm)

Allowing what? People to have a roof (of some sorts) over their heads?? While I don’t believe that RV camping is the ideal solution to the homelessness issue, at least it gives individuals a way to get out of the elements/cold and have a place to call ‘their own’. This is not a unique issue to west Seattle, unfortunately it is a city wide issue. While events like this fire are not uncommon, and certainly pose a a level or risk, at least it gives the individuals a sense of humanity.
- Unapologetic November 9, 2020 (8:48 pm)
  
  These people were not using this rv as living space, this is a known drug trafficking and high crime location… These people were using this rv as a drug house and using it as a place to shoot up and transfer stolen property from our neighborhoods … people come and go from it day and night…glad its gone now.